1950 in the United Kingdom
UK-related events during the year of 1950
Events from the year 1950 in the United Kingdom .
Incumbents
Events
12 January – Submarine HMS Truculent (P315) sinks after collision in the Thames Estuary with 64 deaths (mostly from hypothermia ) and 20 survivors.[ 1]
16 January – The BBC Light Programme first airs the daily children's radio feature Listen with Mother .[ 2]
26 January
India becomes a republic , severing constitutional ties with the United Kingdom and other dominions.[ 3]
Donald Hume is sentenced to imprisonment as an accessory to the murder of Stanley Setty, having dumped his dismembered body over the Essex marshes from a light aircraft.[ 2]
8 February – George Kelly is sentenced to hang for the murder of the Cameo cinema manager in the Liverpool suburb of Wavertree , a conviction which will be quashed as unsafe fifty-three years later.[ 2]
20 February – Ealing Studios release the film The Blue Lamp , introducing the character PC George Dixon , played by Jack Warner (with Dirk Bogarde as a young criminal).[ 2] [citation needed ]
21 February – Cunard liner RMS Aquitania arrives at the scrapyard in Faslane at the end of a 36-year career.
23 February – 1950 United Kingdom general election : Labour , led by Clement Attlee , win a second term in government, though with a parliamentary majority of just five seats, a stark contrast to the 146-seat majority gained in 1945. Their popularity took a plunge last year following the devaluation of the pound and the failure of the East African groundnuts scheme , with many recent opinion polls showing a comfortable Conservative lead.[ 4] Among the lost Labour seats is Bexley in Kent which 33-year-old Conservative Party candidate Edward Heath seizes from Ashley Bramall .[ 5] Both Communist Party MP's lose their seats. Voter turnout is 83.9%, an all-time high for a UK general election under universal suffrage. This is the first Parliamentary election at which plural voting is not permitted. University constituencies have been abolished at the dissolution .[ 6] Postal voting is available to civilians for the first time. BBC Television airs its first election results programme, however no footage survives due to it being broadcast live and not recorded.
1 March – German-born theoretical physicist Klaus Fuchs , working at Harwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment , is convicted following a confession of supplying secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union .[ 7]
6–8 March – The World Figure Skating Championships are held in London .
8 March
9 March – Welsh-born Timothy Evans , aged 25, is hanged by Albert Pierrepoint at HM Prison Pentonville in London for the murder of his baby daughter (and, by imputation, his wife) at their residence at 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill , London. 3 years later, his downstairs neighbour John Christie is found to be a serial killer of at least seven women at this address. Evans is posthumously pardoned in 1966.
12 March – Llandow air disaster : eighty of the eighty-three passengers on board an Avro Tudor V aircraft are killed when it crashes on approach to Llandow in Glamorgan, making it the world's worst air disaster at this time.
16 March – The Gambols comic strip first appears in the Daily Express .[ 2]
c. April? – The best-selling Kenwood Chef food mixer is first introduced.
1 April – Corby , a village in Northamptonshire , is designated as the first new town in central England, providing homes for up to 40,000 people by the 1960s.[ 9]
14 April – The Eagle comic first appears, featuring Dan Dare and Captain Pugwash .[ 2]
29 April – Arsenal F.C. win the FA Cup with a 2–0 win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium .[ 10]
13 May – first Grand Prix held at Silverstone .[ 11]
20 May – The first package holiday air charter , by Vladimir Raitz of Horizon Holidays , from Gatwick Airport to Calvi , Corsica , for camping .[ 12]
21 May – A tornado tracks across England from Wendover to Blakeney, Norfolk (68 miles (109 km)), the longest ever such track in Britain.[ 13]
26 May – Motor fuel rationing comes to an end after eleven years, marking another stage in the phasing-out of rationing that was introduced in the wake of the Second World War .[ 14]
6 June – The BBC Light Programme first airs the popular radio comedy feature Educating Archie .[ 2]
7 June – The pilot episode of the agricultural soap opera The Archers airs on BBC Radio . The series proper begins in January 1951 and will still be running more than 70 years later.[ 15]
24 June – World Cup opens in Brazil with the England national football team competing for the first time.[ 2]
28 June – In the World Cup, the England national football team is humiliated by losing 1–0 to the United States in Belo Horizonte .[ 2]
29 June – The England cricket team loses the Test Match by 326 runs to the West Indies at Lord's , an event commemorated in Lord Beginner 's calypso Victory Test Match .[ 2]
11 July – The first broadcast of the popular BBC Television pre-school children's programme Andy Pandy .[ 15]
19 July – Release of the film Treasure Island made in England with Robert Newton as Long John Silver .[ 16]
31 July
15 August – Princess Elizabeth gives birth to her and her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh 's second child and only daughter.[ 18]
19 August – The Football League season begins with four new members, taking membership from 88 to 92 across the four divisions.[ 19] The new members are Colchester United , Gillingham (who lost their league status in 1938),[ 20] Scunthorpe & Lindsey United and Shrewsbury Town .[ 21]
24 August – Vale Park football stadium opens in Stoke-on-Trent , to serve Port Vale F.C. It has an initial capacity of more than 30,000 and it had been billed as the "Wembley of the North" when first proposed, but high costs mean that the new stadium is much more basic than had been planned.[ 22]
27 August – The BBC makes its first television broadcast from the European continent.[ 15]
29 August
4,000 British troops are sent to Korea .[ 23]
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh's fourteen-day-old daughter is named as Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise. She is known at this time as Princess Anne of Edinburgh and later as The Princess Royal .[ 18]
8 September – 116 miners are trapped underground in a landslide at Knockshinnoch Castle colliery at New Cumnock in Ayrshire , Scotland .[ 24]
9 September
Post-war soap rationing ends.[ 17]
The first miners are rescued from Knockshinnoch Castle colliery.[ 24]
11 September – The rescue operation from Knockshinnoch Castle colliery is completed, with all 116 miners saved.[ 24]
1 October – Full-time military service by conscripted National Servicemen is extended to two years.
18 October – The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board 's Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme is inaugurated.[ 25]
25 October – The Festival Ballet, later to become the English National Ballet , founded by Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin , makes its debut performance.[ 26] [ 27]
26 October – The rebuilt House of Commons , following its destruction by bombing in World War II, is used for the first time.[ 15]
October
November – An attempt to hold the Second World Peace Congress at Sheffield City Hall is thwarted by the British authorities preventing many international delegates from entering the country[ 2] and it is relocated to Warsaw .[ 28]
5 November – The BBC Light Programme first airs Life with the Lyons , the UK's first sitcom , featuring British-domiciled American couple Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon .
28 November – James Corbitt is hanged at Strangeways Prison , Manchester, for the premeditated murder in August of his mistress at Ashton-under-Lyne . He is well acquainted with his executioner , Albert Pierrepoint , from Pierrepoint's other calling as a pub landlord in Oldham .
10 December
25 December – The Stone of Scone , the traditional coronation stone of Scottish monarchs , English monarchs and more recently British monarchs , is stolen from London 's Westminster Abbey by a group of four Scottish students with nationalist beliefs.[ 15] It turns up in Scotland on 11 April 1951.
28 December – An order to designate the Peak District as the first of the National parks of the United Kingdom is submitted to the Minister of Town and Country Planning for approval.[ 31] [ 32]
Undated
Publications
Births
Philip Craven
1 January – Chris Black , Scottish hammer thrower
2 January – Angela Gallop , forensic scientist
5 January – Malcolm Hardee , comedian (died 2005)
7 January – Malcolm Macdonald , footballer and manager
9 January – Alec Jeffreys , geneticist
19 January – David Tredinnick , politician
1 February – John Bowe , actor
3 February – Pamela Franklin , actress
13 February – Peter Gabriel , musician
16 February – Peter Hain , politician
19 February – Andy Powell , rock guitarist (Wishbone Ash )
22 February – Julie Walters , English actress[ 34]
25 February – Tony Lloyd , politician (died 2024)[ 35]
4 March
5 March – Henry Marsh , neurosurgeon
22 March – Jocky Wilson , Scottish darts player (died 2012)
27 March – Terry Yorath , footballer and football manager
30 March – Robbie Coltrane , Scottish actor and comedian (died 2022)[ 36]
3 April – Sally Thomsett , actress
19 April – Julia Cleverdon , charity worker
20 April – Robert Mair , engineer and academic
22 April
1 May – Danny McGrain , footballer
3 May – Mary Hopkin , singer
11 May – Jeremy Paxman , television presenter and author
12 May – Jenni Murray , radio presenter
15 May – Keith Mills , businessman
17 May – Alan Johnson , politician
22 May
23 May – Martin McGuinness , Irish republican politician and soldier (died 2017)
1 June – Tom Robinson , singer and musician
2 June
5 June – Paul Flowers , Labour politician and non-executive chairman of The Co-operative Bank
12 June – Michael Fabricant , politician
13 June – Nick Brown , politician
14 June – Rowan Williams , Archbishop of Canterbury
20 June – Rita Rae, Lady Rae , Scottish judge
30 June
4 July – Philip Craven , 2nd President of the International Paralympic Committee
6 July
8 July – Sarah Kennedy , television presenter
14 July – Bruce Oldfield , fashion designer
18 July – Richard Branson , entrepreneur
19 July
23 July
26 July – Susan George , actress
27 July – Simon Jones , actor
30 July – Harriet Harman , politician
13 August – Jane Carr , actress
15 August – Anne, Princess Royal [ 38]
18 August – Dennis Elliott , drummer
20 August – Andrew Downes , composer (died 2023)
28 August – Tony Husband , cartoonist (died 2023)
30 August – Antony Gormley , sculptor
11 September – Barry Sheene , motorcycle racer (died 2003 in Australia)
14 September – Paul Kossoff , blues rock guitarist (Free ) (died 1976)
21 September – Charles Clarke , politician
24 September – Harriet Walter , actress
27 September – Linda Lewis , pop singer (died 2023)
5 October – Eddie Clarke , heavy metal guitarist (Motörhead ) (died 2018)
22 October – Harry Gration , broadcaster and journalist (died 2022)
25 October – Steve Barry , race walker
14 November – Sarah Radclyffe , production manager and producer
17 November – Colin Fletcher , suffragan bishop
26 November – Davey Graham , guitarist (died 2008)
6 December – Helen Liddell , politician
10 December – Nicky Henderson , horse trainer
14 December – Vicki Michelle , actress
20 December – Geoffrey Grimmett , mathematician and academic
21 December – David Thacker , director and screenwriter
28 December – Clifford Cocks , cryptographer
31 December – Phil Blakeway , English rugby player
Deaths
21 January – George Orwell , author (born 1903)
9 March – Timothy Evans , victim of wrongful execution (born 1924)
19 March – Sir Norman Haworth , chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1883)
24 March – Harold Laski , political theorist and economist (born 1893)
30 March – Joe Yule , Scottish-born comedian (born 1894)
19 April – Edward Unwin , Victoria Cross recipient (born 1864)
2 August – Nina Boucicault , actress (born 1867)[ 39]
17 August – Sir Francis Lindley , diplomat (born 1872)
6 September – Olaf Stapledon , author and philosopher (born 1886)
21 September – Arthur Milne , physicist (born 1896)
2 November – George Bernard Shaw , playwright (born 1856)
12 November – Julia Marlowe , English-American actress (born 1865)
23 November – Percival Mackey , pianist, composer and bandleader (born 1894)
28 November – James Corbitt , murderer (born 1913)
See also
References
^ Gray, Edwyn (1986). Few Survived – A History of Submarine Disasters . Leo Cooper.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kynaston, David (2007). Austerity Britain 1945–1951 . London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-7985-4 .
^ "India becomes a republic" . BBC News . 26 January 1950. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ "Labour wins slim majority" . BBC News . 24 February 1950. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ "Number10.gov.uk » Edward Heath" . Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2010 .
^ Representation of the People Act 1948 .
^ "Communist spy jailed for 14 years" . BBC News . 1 March 1950. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ "Gas turbine car gets road test" . BBC News . 8 March 1950. Retrieved 6 January 2008 .
^ "No. 38878" . The London Gazette . 4 April 1950. p. 1671.
^ "FA Cup Final 1950" . Archived from the original on 25 May 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2010 .
^ "The Lost Decade Timeline" . BBC. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ Calder, Simon (10 January 2004). "Heroes & Villains: Vladimir Raitz". The Independent . London.
^ Simons, Paul (2008). Since Records Began . London: Collins. pp. 35–6. ISBN 978-0-00-728463-4 .
^ "UK drivers cheer end of fuel rations" . BBC News . 26 May 1950. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ a b c d e Penguin Pocket On This Day . Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0 .
^ Konstam, Angus (2008). Piracy: The Complete History . Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 313. ISBN 9781846032400 . Retrieved 11 October 2011 . [dead link ]
^ a b Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History . London: Century Ltd. pp. 401–402. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2 .
^ a b BBC On this Day – 15 August
^ "Results : Saturday 19th August 1950" . statto.com . Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2013 .
^ "The Fall and Rise of Gillingham Football Club - from non-league wilderness to league status" . 22 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2013 .
^ "1950-51 Football League" . F.C.H.D . Retrieved 13 May 2013 .
^ "History" . Port Vale F.C. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013 .
^ "British troops arrive in Korea" . BBC News . 29 August 1950. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ a b c "Miners trapped underground by landslide" . BBC News . 8 September 1950. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ Newsreel footage of opening ceremony. [dead link ]
^ a b The Hutchinson Factfinder . Helicon. 1999. ISBN 1-85986-000-1 .
^ Meisner, Nadine (3 December 2004). "Dame Alicia Markova" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2010 .
^ Roche, T.W.E. (1969). The Key in the Lock . London: Murray. pp. 176–7 . ISBN 0-7195-1907-1 .
^ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1950" . Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1950" . Retrieved 29 January 2008 .
^ "National Park in the Peak". The Times . No. 51885. London. 29 December 1950. p. 3.
^ Robertson, Patrick (1974). The Shell Book of Firsts . London: Ebury Press. p. 242. ISBN 0-7181-1279-2 .
^ "Lucy Barfield: The Real Lucy of Narnia" . Into the Wardrobe . 27 May 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2010 .
^ "Julie Walters Facts" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 7 October 2020 .
^ Sir Tony Lloyd obituary
^ "Robbie Coltrane obituary" . The Guardian . 14 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022 .
^ "Birthdays". The Sunday Times . London. 30 June 2013.
^ "Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II" . Westminster Abbey . Retrieved 8 October 2022 . [dead link ]
^ Nina Boucicault (1867—1950)